Goodbye, Othello - Yellow and Purple

I held it together pretty good all day yesterday (last night was another matter, but I'm not going to go there). I used the trick of "fake it till you feel it" - I wore bright, happy colours:
I found this gorgeous skirt in a consignment shop a couple of weeks ago. It was about $30. I love all the colours in it, and the chrysanthemum pattern.

It has a slit at the back; it's actually a hidden zipper, so you can adjust the height of the slit. It's by Vivienne Tam, and the quality is just awesome.

The stuff:

I pulled the purple out of one of the chrysanthemum colours, and did the same with the yellow, of course.

I wore my heart necklace, and Dad's ring.

I wore large pearl dome studs (forgot to put them in the above pictures).

Yesterday morning, I took the last picture of Othello:

Goodbye, sweet little buddy. You were the best kitty ever.

Cardigan (no label, consignment), cami (Plum), skirt (Vivienne Tam, consignment), shoes (Friis and Company, gift from L), earrings (Aldo Accessories), necklace (consignment), ring (Dad's, vintage 1960s).

Hot Pink and Orange

I'm never quite sure how an outfit will translate from my idea until I actually put it on when I get to work. Fortunately, today's worked out all right.

I finally got around to doing some minor sewing (putting buttons back on stuff), so I could wear this cardigan again. Dang thing popped a button off the first time I wore it! I hate that!
Wow, my waist looks small - I like that! The cardi hits perfectly right at the top of the belt.

I liked how these two tops went together - the silk top is hot pinky-purple with orangey-red dragons on it, so it's fun to play with variations of those colours.

The stuff:
Naturally, I had to pull in the grey belt because the pattern of the fabric in the buckle also has red and purple. Then these shoes (dark red with grey piping) worked just right as a nice change from black.

A close-up:

I love those colours!

A note for those of you who have said such kind things about Othello over the past week: we are taking him in tomorrow night for his final trip to the vet. He is ready to go, and although it's hard, we are ready to let him go. I will post tomorrow's outfit in the next few days, but I'm going to take a little break to mourn him.

Cheers,
Sheila

Cardigan (Kersh), brocade top (Lhasa, thrifted), skirt (BB Dakota), shoes (Town Shoes, thrifted), earrings (the Cobbler), belt (Shi Studio).

Double Velvet - and Downgraded to a Silver

First, I have to apologize for incorrect information in yesterday's post: I did not win a gold (I won a silver) and I did not come in 3rd overall (I came in 6th overall). My source was not quite correct (*ahem*Mom*ahem*). But I was only beaten by 1 minute for the gold! Ah well, next year.

Damn. I wanted that gold.

Anyway, moving on! I got this vest a couple of weekends ago:
It's a classic late 80s/early 90s vest - I had a couple like this back in the day (I love vests - they are just so flattering on and they suck everything in nicely). I love the black velvet, so what better to pair with it than more velvet?

The skirt is sort of new - I've worn it once, here. Today, I had fun with texture. Velvet with lace, with the tough rocker chick accessories:Inigo helped with the pictures.

Second wear for these shoes, too - I last wore them for the Wardrobe Challenge in March. Man, they are comfortable.

I love the way the snakeskin looks with the lace and velvet.

A close-up:

I was cleaning out some of my old stuff and found that scrolly cross necklace in a drawer. I bought it for a party many years ago and totally forgot about it.

I'm actually wearing tights:

They're sort of a pebble-y fishnet. Great at hiding varicose veins, haha!

Inigo also got involved in the leg pictures:

Hee, look at his pink belly.

Caught Othello this morning in his favourite chair:

I can see he's watching me.

Vest (Surrey Classics, consignment), lace top (Noa Noa), cami (Plum), skirt (Club Monaco), shoes (Aerosoles), cross (Claire's), necklace (Plum), cuff (old).

The Return of the Skinny Pants - and Not Quite Gold!

Following the advice of Kari, Hillary, Kristen, Sal, Lorena, Sherylyn, Audi and Chris, the last time I wore these pants, I am doing a less structured, long, tunic-style top and flats (well, my version of flats, kitten heels, haha) with them:
It was the perfect post-race outfit, and man, I am so glad I considered what I would wear today because I am SORE. I hobbled around like an old lady. Rebecca, that's why I wore low heels all last week!

I gave everything I had in the race yesterday - that was one of the toughest 10Ks I have ever done! I finished with a time of 1:13:51 (my second best time ever!), and that was walking, not running, for those of you who don't know that I race-walk.

Apparently, I came in 6th (edit: corrected) overall (out of the men and women) and second (edit: corrected) in my age category! Woo hoo! (edit: no, I did not get gold). I now have 2 silvers and a bronze in this race.

I'll get my medal in the next few days. In the meantime, I have the love of a kitty to see me through:

The stuff:

I went with the over-the-top bohemian accessories: a big cuff, bigass earrings and a big multi-chain necklace.

A close-up:

I love those earrings.

Today's Othello picture:

This is from last night, just hanging out. Every bit of time this week is special with him.

Cardigan (Express, consignment), silk top (Zara, consignment), pants (Kensie), shoes (Kenneth Cole Reaction, gift from Cat), earrings (Plum, gift from L), necklace (Plum), bracelet (The Bay).

Attack of the 50 Foot...Alice

Thank you, everyone, for your very kind words, good wishes and hugs for us and Othello - it's been a tough couple of days, and your words have meant so much. Our poor little guy doesn't have a lot of time left and we're just trying to make it the best for him, no matter how hard it is on us.
This picture is from last month (what can I say, we take a lot of pictures of our cats). Othello is sitting on L's lap while he paints. This shot captures Othello's general crankiness well. He's begrudgingly affectionate with us.

And on to fashion! If the world gives you lemons, suck 'em up and look fabulous!

I greatly enjoyed this outfit - I felt very Alice in Wonderland, but also Tom Waits' "Alice", which is one of my favourite albums and songs by him. The strange, melancholic tune suited my mood on Friday.

That's my old work-horse polka dot dress. I've worn it a LOT (although the only pictures I could find are here last May, and here in March 2007).

The white floofiness is this ruffly ivory skirt (worn once, here, last August), which I've been meaning to wear again. I threw caution to the wind since it was Casual Friday and did the crazy painty tights again.

And finally worked down to my flats:

I forgot my cool green and pink ring, but otherwise I really liked all the stuff.

A close-up:

Can you ever go wrong with pearls and Audrey?

Inigo was so cute today - I had to take a picture of him on L's lap:

He's sitting like that on me as I type this. *smile* We're making sure we give him a lot of love right now too.

Wish me luck! It's the big 10K race tomorrow morning!

Dress (Do & Be), skirt (no label, consignment), tights (Hue), obi (Smoking Lily, consignment), shoes (Franco Sarto, consignment), pearls (Eaton's, '90s), various charms.

Attack of the 50 Foot...Dress Week! Condiments! And some bad news...

I am always determined to wear this dress more. I've worn it twice, here (last July) and here (for another Dress Week!). Instead of mixing it with a neutral, this time I thought I'd go crazy and mix it with...yellow!
I only realized once I got to work that I was wearing mustard, ketchup and mayo - all I needed was a bit of green and I'd be relish too!

The stuff:

Went with the not-quite-matchy dark reds to go with the tomato-red of the dress.

A close-up:

More circles and swirly patterns.

And...the bad news. We found out tonight that our beloved kitty, Othello, has cancer. We love him dearly - we got him just before we got married, so he's just over 13 years old - and this is a huge blow to us. Since we don't have kids, he and Inigo are our little buddies. We're going to try to give him as much love as we can with the time we have left with him.

Othello on top of his scratching post this morning, out on the deck, looking at the cars.

Forgive my indulgence, but I'll be including pictures of him in my posts when I can. I want to have memories of him for as long as we have left.

Dress (Vero Moda), cardigan (Future Paradise), belt (Plum), shoes (Expressions), necklace (Melanie Lynne), earrings (don't remember).

Attack of the 50 Foot...Dress Week! Pattern-Palooza!

I am trying to rein in my retail therapy sessions lately, but surely a little stop in a thrift shop doesn't count, right? Especially when I found this BCBGMaxAzria dress for $18:
It's a wrap-around, and the quality of the jersey is FAB - it's actually really heavy. It has a big ruffle at the bottom, but that black ruffle peeking out is actually this Noa Noa skirt that I got a few weeks back.

I couldn't resist a twirl!

I probably could have done a necklace with this outfit, but with so much going on on the bottom half - 'Vogs, fishnets, black ruffled netting, lots of swooshing as I walked - I kept the rest of it pretty simple.

The stuff:

I like the mix of colours in the pattern: scrawly black (reminds me of when a pen dies), brown, beige, pinky-red, ice cream pink and pale pink. I think I'll be able to do a lot with those colours.

Notice that my heels are getting lower - I'm also scaling back on my noon walks/stairs to rest up.

A close-up of my ol' basic blacks:

I love that bracelet. It's rose o'clock!

Dress (BCBGMaxAzria, thrifted), cami (gift from Ruth), skirt (Noa Noa), shoes (Fluevog teapots), bracelet (Le Chateau), earrings (The Cobbler).

Attack of the 50 Foot...Dress Week! Tiki Dress

I actually wore this dress for I Was a Teenaged Dress Week back in September 2009 here - as noted, the hem came down and I have just gotten around to wearing it (Ruth fixed it! Yay, Ruth!).
I also wore it here, last June. I'm kind of running out of ways to wear it, since this tiki pattern of green, turquoise and brown means another colour is not so welcome.

I went with the mod 60s accessories:

And they are all vintage 60s, all items of Mom's that I er...liberated from her closet/jewelry box back in the 80s. Aside from the shoes - I bought those all by myself!

A close-up:

Even in the 80s, I always wore the belt, earrings and cuff together. It's like they're old friends.

Dress (unknown, thrifted), shoes (Pink Studio, gift money from m-i-l), belt, cuff and earrings (vintage 60s, Mom's).

Attack of the 50 Foot...Dress Week! I See Spots

Has it really been 6 months since Boots Vs. Dress Week? Get outta town!
Time to showcase some great dresses!

This weekend is the Big 10K Race, so I'm going ease myself into wearing flats by Friday so that I don't have sore feet or pull a Sheila and twist my ankle or something equally silly.

But today, there are heels:
This is my second wear of this dress (click here to see last time), and following suggestions from Megan and Audi, I went with blues (turquoise) instead of trying to be all matchy. Well, I mean, yeah, the turquoises are all matchy, but let's not get all bogged down with semantics, eh?

I particularly liked the bits of gold and ivory from the bracelets:

Okay, I know that's not a great shot of the bracelets. Here's the stuff:

Those are the shoes L wanted me to wear with this outfit last week.

A close-up of the jewelry:

Pretty curlicues in the gold.

Dress (Smoking Lily, consignment), tank (Esprit), shoes (Le Chateau), necklace (Foxy), earrings (don't remember), ivory/turquoise bangles (holiday purchase), gold bangles (Aldo Accessories).

Special Occasion - Joanne's 50th Birthday Party!

My boss, Joanne, turns 50 on Monday - she's an awesome person and a good friend. We've worked together for five years, so of course, we would go to her birthday party! We had a great time.

And, duh, of course I wore a fancy dress!
This is my amazing Betsey Johnson dress that I bought for New Year's Eve 2008. Pictures of the two times I've worn it here (New Year's Eve) and here (L's birthday 2009).

I wore it with the halter strap this time. Showing off the emerald green lining (which peeks through all the cutouts in the blue fabric) to Inigo, who insisted on being in all the pictures.

The back:

I went with blue tights this time (I hate repeating looks) - unfortunately, the toe popped on the walk home. Ah, well.

For accessories, I went with vintage sparkly:

Sorry, a bit blurry - I was in a hurry. The ring is just costume, but the earrings and bracelet (with safety chain) are Grandma J's. The stretch bracelet one of Mom's that I...er...acquired back in the 80s.

The bracelet and earrings are part of a set (picture here). The bracelet has the "Sherman" mark:

As noted last time I wore these: This is signed Sherman, a famous Canadian jeweler who specialized in these crystal pieces in the 50s - the crystals are Swarovski and the metal is gold plated. The finish on them is called "aurora borealis".

I don't know the make of the stretchy bracelet, but it is stamped "Empire Made":

This is a mark that British companies doing business in Hong Kong used. It's very small and barely fits on my wrist.

Dress (Betsey Johnson), shoes (Jessica Simpson), stretchy cuff (Empire Made, vintage early 60s?, Mom's), earrings/bracelet (Sherman, vintage early 60s/late 50s?, Grandma J's), ring (Melanie Lynne).

Casual Friday - Pants Like Sails!

I was so tickled to see gorgeous Sal's post the other day where she's wearing wide-leg pants. I got these amazing Noa Noa pants last Friday and I am in looooove. I don't care if they are "in" or trendy, I like 'em and I'm going to wear 'em.
Oh my goodness, I had forgotten how amazing a wide-leg cotton pant feels. I felt like I had great stiff canvas sails on my legs - I swooshed through my day, making a crackling noise like gusts of wind propelling a great sailing ship through the water. I imagined sailors in duck cloth trousers - I think I will call these my sailor pants.

They were $39.99 plus an extra 20% off (regular price is $160.00), and the tag tells me these were made for Spring 2009.

As with my other Noa Noa pieces, the details on these pants are amazing. They have two sets of pockets on the front legs: a deep slash pocket, and a short pocket (where my hand is in the first picture). They also have the tab pockets on the bum (above), gorgeous seaming all over, and a double button at the waistband. And the cotton is thick enough that it's not see-through!

These replace my godawful "mom jeans". Seriously, like a gazillion times better, am I right?

Okay, moving on, the denim shirt and the fish tee are also new-to-me. I got the shirt off the 50% off rack at one of my favourite consignment stores, for a whopping $6. It's Mexx, and is super-thin and soft. I like the tailoring, the lack of flap pocket in the boobular region (a big no-no for me) and the strong shoulder.

One of the boob pockets is actually inside! Handy for my mp3 player.

The fish tee was around $20, but I fell in love with it. I could wear this layered over my long-sleeved red tee or the mustard tee. The pattern is the same on the back.

This last picture is at the end of the day - I've stripped off my yellow bangle and silver hoop earrings, but see how few wrinkles the pants have! Here's a picture of the shoes.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Shirt (Mexx, consignment), tee (AVA American Version Apparel, consignment), pants (Noa Noa), belt (Denver Hayes, gift from Ruth), shoes (Portia), bangle (thrifted).